A ballad whose chromatic routes demand patient voice leading. The opening begins away from the tonic, while the bridge makes unusually vivid changes of key.
Owner content reviewed — 2026-10-06T15:53:55Z by admin. Coverage measures presence, not accuracy. Content review does not certify rights or musical perfection.
See what is here and what is missing
✓ Recording evidence
✓ Key & form
✓ Chart
✓ History
✓ Playing notes
✓ Practice plan
✓ Backing track
✓ Django recording
✓ Django solo study aid
✓ Illustration
✓ Sources
✓ Difficulty
Django's Recordings
Django recordings for this tune. Uploader dates and take labels remain source claims; only an evidenced exact association enables a row’s Listen control.
3 historical recording entries · source text preserved
Entry
Year
Recording / session / release evidence
Listen
01
1937
Body And Soul, 22/4/37, OLA 1710-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 305, Affinity AFS 1003, Classics 748, Jazz Archives ZET 752, EMI 780671-2, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).", - Paris - QHCF
—
02
1938
Body And Soul, 31/5/38, CL 6716-1,"Fremeaux FA 308, Classics 777"," - Paris - Larry Adler (har), Stephane Grappelly (p), Django Reinhardt (g),Joseph Reinhardt, Eugene Vees (g), Roger Grasset (b)"
—
03
1949
Body And Soul, Jan-Feb 1949, WL 220 ,(unissued)," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (g), Stephane Grappelly (v),Gianni Safred (p), Carlo Pecori (b), Aurelio de Carolis (d)."
—
A dash means no video has been associated with this exact historical recording. Tune-level listening resources remain available above.
History & Listening
Body And Soul is credited here to Johnny Green. The source date is 1930; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. The inherited archive lists 3 recording entries, with dated entries spanning 1937–1949. These are archive rows, not a claim that every entry is a distinct released take. The old prose mentions 1938 and 1939, while the first detailed row is dated 22 April 1937. The recording evidence and that prose conflict are kept distinct.
Tune details
Music: Johnny Green
Words: Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton
Published / composed / adapted — see history: 1930
Original key: Not established
Study level: Intermediate; advanced where the inherited roadmap needs reconstruction
Melody & head
Practise the opening without embellishment until each sustained note has a clear harmonic destination.
Listening task: Practise the opening without embellishment until each sustained note has a clear harmonic destination. Mark the key, pickup, phrase lengths and ending before comparing another version.
Session evidence
Body And Soul, 22/4/37, OLA 1710-1 ,"Fremeaux FA 305, Affinity AFS 1003, Classics 748, Jazz Archives ZET 752, EMI 780671-2, Mosaic MD6-190(6 CD Set).", - Paris - QHCF
Compare the first and last listed entries for tempo, instrumentation and arrangement. Do not infer identical takes from a shared title. Hear the bridge’s D-major arrival clearly.
Session evidence
Body And Soul, Jan-Feb 1949, WL 220 ,(unissued)," - Rome - Django Reinhardt (g), Stephane Grappelly (v),Gianni Safred (p), Carlo Pecori (b), Aurelio de Carolis (d)."
The inherited chart is in D♭ major; D and C areas in the bridge. Confirm the backing track’s sounding key, pickup and complete form before playing; an instrument label may describe a transposed score.
Chart & Form
E♭ minor and altered dominants frame D♭. The bridge moves to D major, then toward C before a descending dominant route returns to the final A section.
Chord symbols and source cell divisions are preserved from Djangopedia. Slashes mark rhythm; 0 is inherited diminished notation whose exact voicing should be checked against the melody. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.
Guitare Improvisation · The inherited chart is in D♭ major; D and C areas in the bridge. Confirm the backing track’s sounding key, pickup and complete form before playing; an instrument label may describe a transposed score. · 6:15
Checked 2026-10-01
How this resource was selected
Most-viewed suitable match selected from the captured search results after title/composition review; not a complete YouTube ranking. Source counts were captured on 1 October 2026. Coaching, unrelated songs and non-backing performances are excluded.
Study Django's Solo
Performed studies, transcriptions, TAB, notation and lessons for studying Django’s solo. Resources are described by their creator; inclusion does not certify note-for-note accuracy.
Nick Nasty · Nick Nasty · Uploader: in the style of Django Reinhardt; intro, rhythm comping and solo transcription; no year/session/take stated. · Visible picked and fretted solo at 2:11. The uploader claims a solo transcription but also says in the style of Django; Django-source identity and extent remain uncertain. Retained only as B for owner review. Checked 2026-10-06; private research candidate, not owner approved. Note-for-note accuracy not independently verified.
Stage 4L — Class B. 3:19 intro/comping/solo; later solo frame inspected at 2:11. No notation visible. Source claim: Uploader: in the style of Django Reinhardt; intro, rhythm comping and solo transcription; no year/session/take stated.
Similar tunes
Follow a shared key, a harmonic idea or a familiar form. Keys refer to this site’s chart editions; other recordings may use a different key.
Related chord movement
No sufficiently supported harmonic comparison has been added yet.
Same chart key
No match is established in the current chart metadata.
A broad bodily contour becomes two patient translucent ribbons moving through three distinct tonal fields, each connected by thin chromatic threads. The sustained ribbon suggests a ballad melody crossing remote bridge keys, neither anatomy study nor readable music.
An original editorial interpretation of the tune. This is an illustration, not an archival photograph or a documented reconstruction of a recording session.
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
Hear F as the third of D♭, then F♯ when the bridge reaches D.
Keep guide tones moving by the smallest available interval through the bridge.
Pitch choices
Start with the chord tones of each written harmony. Hear F as the third of D♭, then F♯ when the bridge reaches D.
Use passing notes only after the destination chord and phrase length are secure; this guide does not assign one scale indiscriminately to the whole tune.
Play the bridge with roots in the bass and a single guide tone above. Then sing the melody over those two-note shapes at a slow pulse.
Comping & voicings
Use spacious shells and allow the melody’s suspensions to resolve. Avoid placing every altered extension directly beneath a held melody note.
Voicing note sets
D♭maj7: D♭–F–C; E♭m7: E♭–G♭–D♭; A♭7: A♭–C–G♭.
Keep the accompaniment clear
Keep a quiet, even swing pulse, adjusting its density to the melody and ensemble.
Practise one chorus with only two chord attacks per bar, then restore four without changing tempo.
Keeping F natural when the bridge establishes D major.
Crowding the melody with dense extensions or doubling another accompanist’s register.
Practice room
Start around 60–90 bpm and preserve the full phrase
Your assignment
Play the bridge with roots in the bass and a single guide tone above. Then sing the melody over those two-note shapes at a slow pulse.
Loop these changes
Hear F as the third of D♭, then F♯ when the bridge reaches D.
Keep guide tones moving by the smallest available interval through the bridge.
Metronome
Begin with four quarter-note clicks. Halve the click rate and hear beats 2 and 4 while maintaining the same phrase lengths.
Transposition
Transpose the first complete phrase up a whole step, including its cadence. Name chord functions before finding new fingerings.
Return to D♭ major; D and C areas in the bridge and play the melodic phrase from memory.
At the session
Body And Soul — D♭ major; D and C areas in the bridge; 32 bars, AABA in the inherited chart. Agree the pickup, tempo and ending before counting in.
Start together
Suggested rehearsal entry: give two clear bars of count-in and start the agreed pickup or first melody note. This is not claimed as a historical Django introduction.
Finish together
Agree a final melody statement and hold its tonic arrival; remove any turnaround intended to restart the chorus. Check the chosen arrangement for tags or a separate coda.
32 bars, AABA in the inherited chart. Keep the head and solo chorus lengths explicit at the count-in.
Keeping F natural when the bridge establishes D major.
Arranging the tune
Solo guitar
Start with melody and bass only. Add the following colour without interrupting the melody: Hear F as the third of D♭, then F♯ when the bridge reaches D.
Trio or larger group
Use spacious shells and allow the melody’s suspensions to resolve. Avoid placing every altered extension directly beneath a held melody note. Agree the full roadmap and signal the last head before it starts.
Vocal considerations
Choose a comfortable vocal key and transpose the whole arrangement, including its introduction and ending.
Further study
Compare the inherited chromatic dominants with a simpler lead-sheet version. Preserve melody notes first and identify which substitutions are edition-specific.
Chord symbols and source cell divisions are preserved from Djangopedia. Slashes mark rhythm; 0 is inherited diminished notation whose exact voicing should be checked against the melody. This is a chord reference, not a melody transcription.
Compare the linked archive entries before attributing one arrangement to all Django performances. The old prose mentions 1938 and 1939, while the first detailed row is dated 22 April 1937. The recording evidence and that prose conflict are kept distinct.
This player guide combines inherited recording evidence and editorial study notes. Musical study notes are editorial suggestions; compare them with the recording.
Photo identification and provenance; reuse rights remain unverified
Illustration credit & provenance
Original Djangopedia illustration · AI-assisted, 2026
An original editorial interpretation of the tune. This is an illustration, not an archival photograph or a documented reconstruction of a recording session.
Generated with the native image-generation tool on 2026-10-08; original editorial artwork, not a historical photograph.
Prompt: Use case: illustration-story. One original editorial feature illustration for Djangopedia's guide “Body And Soul”. Landscape 1536 × 1024, opaque background.
Scene: A broad bodily contour becomes two patient translucent ribbons moving through three distinct tonal fields, each connected by thin chromatic threads. The sustained ribbon suggests a ballad melody crossing remote bridge keys, neither anatomy study nor readable music.
Musical basis from the guide: A ballad whose chromatic routes demand patient voice leading. The opening begins away from the tonic, while the bridge makes unusually vivid changes of key. The supplied chart is D♭ major; D and C areas in the bridge; form: 32 bars, AABA in the inherited chart; feel: Ballad / gentle swing. These describe musical inspiration, not visible writing. Historical context: Body And Soul is credited here to Johnny Green. The source date is 1930; publication, composition and later lyric adaptations may have separate dates. Do not illustrate disputed historical claims or suggest this imagined scene is an archival session.
Medium: monotype. Dominant palette: violet smoke grey and pearl. Composition: interwoven offset ribbons. Human presence: none. Strong intentional design, clearly drawn/painted, distinctive material marks; keep essential subject safely within the central 70 percent width and middle 80 percent height for card crops. Maintain enough visual substance at thumbnail size.
Broad inspiration observed in old photo, ONLY scale/rhythm and never a reference image: several instrument silhouettes; layered depth; gentle contrast. Independently invent every pose, perspective, clothing, setting and lighting.
Avoid: No face, band portrait, literal soul apparition or yellow paper. No photorealism, archival simulation, generated text, letters, numbers, labels, fake musical notation, logo, signature, watermark, fake dates, yellowed-paper patina, recognizable artwork or copied photograph. No imitation of any named artist. Render the art edge to edge without borders, mockup or typography.
Research & rights notes
Specialist review of original editorial playing advice
Original key and precise composition date where not independently established
Inherited notation, session details and arrangement variants
Photograph reuse permissions
Photograph provenance and rights are stated separately. Attribution does not establish permission.
Stochelo Rosenberg & Eddy - Body and SoulStochelo Rosenberg and Eddy · JacopojInformal live guitar duetStage 4M private performance. Informal live guitar duet. Eddy’s surname and exact performance date are unestablished.✓ Featured
Body and SoulStochelo Rosenberg · Stochelo Rosenberg - TopicReady’n Able; official Iris album audioStage 4M private performance. Ready’n Able; official Iris album audio. Static cover; 2005 release is not a verified recording year.Select performance
Bireli Lagrene "Body & Soul" Jazzland, Vienna 25.05.21Biréli Lagrène · Andy Bartosh All That Music2021 · Jazzland, Vienna, 25 May 2021Stage 4M private performance. Jazzland, Vienna, 25 May 2021. Extended live guitar performance, approximately 11:55.Select performance
Body and SoulBiréli LagrèneStandards; official Parlophone album audioStage 4M private performance. Standards; official Parlophone album audio. Static cover; electric jazz interpretation.Select performance
BODY AND SOULBiréli Lagrène, Joey DeFrancesco and Elvin Jones · inegmax1999 · Marciac 1999Stage 4M private performance. Marciac 1999. Electric jazz crossover with organ and drums.Select performance